I think from a fans point of view, 8 teams would be fantasic. Each team would play each other 4 times & the teams would all be quite deep.
A lot of jobs lost and a lot of heartbreak however would be endured from a players/team staff point of view.

Leave Cairns and Townsville and axe Brisbane. Im pretty sure both these teams would pull higher crouds than the 'bullets' or whatever.. . Heres an idea ..do some research and pick the 8 teams with the highest home attendance average over the last 3yrs or 5 yrs or something. And why does Sydney need a team,I dont think passionate fans exist over there. no-one in sydney gives a toss about the NBL... The new league needs to consist of teams who have strong fanbases , teams who have stadiums over 70% full every game. it makes cents to me.

peace.

K-Dizzle - that rules out the sixers then. We have probably only had over 70% a couple of times in the last 2 seasons.

I reckon 10 is right but switch the Gong with Brisbane.

Every major city has shown that it can support a team bar Sydney. Even then you could say that hey they got 10,000 to a final last year which shows that people will come to a game if you give them good enough reason to.

I like the idea of a GC v Brisbane rivalry as well as Townsville and Cairns.

It would be silly to pull out of these markets (FNQ and the GC) when other sports are expanding into them.

IMO you would do more damage than good buy amalgamating 2 FNQ teams. It is not working in Sydney for the same reason as the existing Kings fans are not supporting the Razorbacks / Spirit.

Can you imagine what would happen here if the AFL told the Crows and Port that they had top amalgamate. You would upset almost every fan, so why do it to 2 succesful clubs?

I think you would be a bit silly to get rid on the QLD teams, Cairns and Townsville especially as don't they get some of the best crowds in the country?

Perth would be a lock and also Adelaide, I think NZL is necessary and appear financially strong enough.

I'd look at leaving a Sydney team out in the first season and really market and try and build a base in Sydney ready for the second year.

Skip , u r right.. forget that 70% part it was a silly way to get my point across..(especially since we have a 7800 seat stadium) . Have the Sixers had the highest attendances in the league over the last 3yrs even 5years though ? if not they must be second in that category. U feelin me? :).. btw, great job at the games, you can realy notice the changes on game night, you and everyone involved keep up the great work!

I personally think they should leave it at 10, and give all the current clubs a chance to be in the league, sure if say a Spirit cant afford to spend the $1m cap and things like that drop them out and give someone else the opportunity to take there spot, eg the kings.
I personally think its stupid to ax say Cairns and Townsville, who both have solid clubs and good following and have ivested alot in their local areas.
Also imagine Cowans reaction if they were to say 1 melbourne team only and the Dragons are axed, after all the money he has spent in marketing the club, etc (unlike many others) i think he deserves to keep his team, and 2 teams in melbourne is a good thing IMO.
So personally i would keep the Current teams, say if the Spirit or Hawks cant meet the requirements then go to 8 or look to bring in the Kings and Bullets in to replace them.
I personally think the best way to go would be to leave the 10 in, the guys who want to bring back the kings get them involved with the spirit and even change the name back to the kings if required and just grow what they have set up and just 1 good solid sydney team, with everyone who wants a team in sydney using there resources to make it work!
If they want the Bullets in they should make it 11 teams, there are still plenty of decent Aussies without NBL contracts eg Kendall, Mottram, etc and guys who could play bigger roles eg Ben Knight, plus some new young guys and imports, i reckon there is enough talent out there to support 11 teams, with a top 5 or 6 format, thats how it should go IMO.
Why kill off good teams like the Crocs, Taipans and Dragons just for the sake of change!

wouldn't a 9 team league be the right fit

8 opponents
32 games
2 home and 2 away against each team
possibly only paying each team 3 times for 24 games

Perth
Adelaide
Melbourne
South
Sydney
GC
Brisbane
Townsville
NZ

sounds too easy because when Woll/CNS are ready with their ownership structure... hey can make an 11 team league with 30 games.

The start will be Gold Coast out as will Sydney Spirit and maybe even Hawks next year .

Then the year after Bullets and Kings will be back .

All current 10 clubs have managed to survive in spite of the current NBL management. That alone should mean they have a robust business model and they should therefore be allowed to continue, although i am not really sure how the Spirit are faring at the moment.

8 clubs to me sounds like too small and boring a competition. Too little variety of styles of play, only 16 imports displaying their skills... it just does not sound good to me.

Why should the review be predominately about the clubs? maybe the fault is elsewhere? like the overriding NBL management or the scheduling? When the season is? Television?

10 teams with a top 5

Bring back the Brisbane Bullets, I am still mourning there loss.

gotta have 2 melbourne teams

Only way this will work is if they give it the deserved attention it will need in lead up to season... as for the club selections...

MUST HAVES (supporters in place along with some marketing power as well):
Adelaide
Melbourne
South Melbourne
Perth
Gold Coast
NZ
Cairns and/or Townsville

Possibly in the future:
Brisbane
Sydney

Brissy and Sydney didn't pull crowds, so no point giving them another shot infront of teams who do.

The time of season will need to be looked at, not to mention getting rid of salary cap. We need to attract some players who are well known such as Shawn Kemp or someone like him who are "over the hill" but able to compete in our league and pull some heads out to the games

Someone should approach MJ and see if he wants to play a couple of games. He probably wouldnt do it, but why not.

nbl players need to get more athletic

1. Ricey is still talking crap- I guess he can't read.
2. Chuck will never allow his old club to fold- even if the only crowds they can get at the Gong is the players themselves.
3. 8 team league is unconscionable.
4. Wortho is a d***head for pushing other players to push for this with him.
5. The argument that if you get the most financial clubs to stay and ditch the others has no wings- as mentioned, that would force us out.
6. Some clubs have a huge fan base but are not making money.
7. Some clubs have money but do not pull crowds.

You cannot solve point 7 with a one size fits all mentality- the money clubs bring in cannot rightly be used as criteria to stay or go, becuase it is not looking at the facts properly.
Different criteria needs to be used.

They paid how much money to receive a report that replaced the word soccer?

Hayden, so your saying if Melb was to stay with one team in the comp, it would be the team which has no championships to it's name and no history behind it. Not going to happen. The Tigers have got Tradition, History and most importantly a bigger fan base.

as for 8 teams I would have:

Adelaide
Melb Tigers
Perth
Townsville
Cairns
New Zealand
Bullets
Hobart/Canberra

I would try revive a team which died a while ago now before trying again in Sydney, because it may pay off and would then be a truly National Basketball League. I think at the moment it's a bit of a joke when not all states/major cities have teams and we are called a national comp.
if not I would put in a team from Sydney and rename them the Kings as it is a name of which many Sydney basketball fans relate to and remember, thus easier to market.

The reason why I would not have a second Melb team is that Melb has a way of embracing new teams and then forgetting about them I.e. Victoria Giants. I fear that the same could happen to the Dragons who were created because of the pull of fans who once supported the Giants. where as the Tigers have a strong and loyal fan base which has stood the test of time.

Anon- your comments about soccer over basketball is just proof that you haven't even read the review let alone it's statistics.
As for the bickering about Vic teams having more right to be there than another Vic club down the road- at least many other clubs aren't just a hybrid mix of some Vic team that folded or amalgamated 5 mins before.
These other clubs, that have been around for a long time and have tradition and history are entitled to our respect.